ST. JOSEPH — St. Joseph Township and the city of St. Joseph came to an agreement last week to annex township land to the city after months of planning and discussion.

According to City Administrator Judy Weyrens, annexation plans have been on the table since 1996 when the township and city "entered into a more extensive planning process" to develop an Orderly Annexation Agreement (OAA).

Weyrens said the purpose of the agreement was to find a "natural process" for future development of the city (as the city's website says), "inward out."

This original agreement shows surrounding land to be annexed by the city in sections with four to nine years between each annexation. The current land in question was supposed to be done by December 2017.

Orderly Annexation Agreement between St. Joseph Township and the city of St. Joseph, dated Mar. 2006.(Photo: City of St. Joseph)

"As time evolved, there were annexations sporadically," Weyrens said.

But, she explained, the real catalyst for this most recent annexation agreement was when Stearns County notified the township it could no longer provide planning and zoning services.

"So they gave the city and the township time to work out a land use process," Weyrens said. "It was more difficult than people anticipated to try and come up with something...So at that point the city decided to exercise what it believes is its legal right to annex (that land)."

St. Joseph Township faced also faced annexation of about 1,800 acres by Waite Park in April 2016 as part of an agreement made in 2000, according to previous reporting by the Times.

There was pushback by township residents at the time, but the city and township reached an agreement in September, 2016.

The city of St. Joseph felt it necessary to also follow through on its 1996 agreement with the township to consolidate and simplify its future development.

"The city was looking at the land use management to afford for orderly growth and development and extension of utilities," she said. "It’s a lot easier if it’s under the city zoning."

Weyrens said the city notified the township in December 2017, and the two governments formed a "committee" to "try to find a consensus" on the annexation.

"That process took longer than it had been anticipated as well," she said.

Weyrens said the city held two public input sessions to hear concerns. The most prominent were taxes and public ordinances. City documents show ordinances under scrutiny were those about issues like allowed animals, burning, accessory building size, keg restrictions and public urination.

According to Weyrens, the City Council July 16 approved the agreement. They also approved forwarding the ordinances in question to the planning commission for review, and implementing a "rural tax rate" to gradually raise the township's to that of the city.

"State law says they have to be brought to the city rate within six years," said Weyrens. On the ultimate consensus of the agreement: "It was very much a compromise for everybody."

Weyrens said the township won't likely see any change in the tax rate due to the annexation until 2020. The deadline for the state to sign off on it and wrap the process is Aug. 2. She doubts it will move that quickly, so it's more likely newly annexed residents won't see that change until the next calendar year.

"The most immediate, significant impact of the township is where they vote," said Weyrens. For primaries, people will continue to go to their normal polling place. For the general election, she said they will have to come into the city.

Send news tips to Jordyn Brown at jnbrown@stcloudtimes.com or follow her on Twitter @thejordynbrown